


What I Could've Done

by englishmuff



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Kill it if you have to, go check 'em out, let the past die, mostly kat, please dont tho, quarantine mention, the other queens are mentioned, this was a prompt from @sixfanficsarchive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:22:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23289970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/englishmuff/pseuds/englishmuff
Summary: Your queens are: Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves.Your feelings are: Powerless, worried.Your verbs are: Support, display.this was fun
Kudos: 35





	What I Could've Done

It was one of those days. Because of quarantine, the queens were cooped up with each other, although that was never a punishment. Anna woke up later than usual, she had nothing to do anyway, and she knew that it was going to be a kind of rough day. The sky was cloudy, threatening to rain, and some of the lightbulbs had burned out, leaving a gloomy atmosphere in the queens' house. She got herself out of bed, after entertaining the idea of just staying in there and sleeping the day off. She came to the main room, filled with queens watching TV. It appeared Anne and Catherine were fighting over control of the remote while Jane, Kat, and Cathy were having a pleasant conversation, pointedly ignoring the fight going on right next to them. Anna decided to join the conversation.  
"Morning, babes. How's everyone doing?"  
Everyone replied with some variant of 'good!', and continued the conversation, apparently about making capes a new fashion trend. For some reason though, Anna couldn't stop thinking about Kat, more specifically, her death. The fears she kept trying to suppress bubbled their way to the top as she couldn't help but kick herself for not being pretty enough for Henry, not being good enough for Henry, because if she did, Katherine would never have entered his grasp, and she wouldn't have suffered as horribly as she did. She wouldn't have been beheaded, she wouldn't be fighting the public's opinion of wh*re and sl*t, when she was only 19. Anna realized she had been standing up, almost in an effort to outrun her thoughts, and outrun the past. Kat was looking worriedly at her, and she was just too young, too naïve, too good to have such a horrible past life. Anna ran back to her room, grabbing a pillow to squeeze as the memories came crashing back, of sweet young Katherine, dancing with her when Henry was asleep. Being told Katherine was on trial for adultery. Wanting to be there, wanting to support one of her only real friends, when everyone else was so cold. Being told that… Katherine was to be beheaded, and being helpless to do anything to save her friend. She was reading the letter saying so, in Richmond. A servant handed it to her, muttering apologies. She opened the letter, knowing what was inside, but powerless to stop herself from doing so, and Katherine was dead. Gone. Never to smile again, or dance or sing. Tears flowed down her face, staining her dress, and… bed sheets? She looked down at her bed, wondering how she got there. Someone was knocking on the door, shocking her back into some sense. She couldn't answer, her throat was closed up, because, didn't you know? Katherine is dead, deceased, gone. A lady-in-waiting came from the door, at least she thought it was a lady-in-waiting, the calm, and worry, exuding off of her seemed to say so. It seemed to be one she knew well. She said weakly,  
"Bes - Bessie?"  
It didn't make sense, she wasn't that close to Bessie. How did she feel so close to this woman?  
"No hun, it's Jane Seymour. Are you okay?"  
That didn't make sense either, Jane Seymour was dead too. Ghost Jane took Anna's cold hands into hers.  
"But you're dead, I married Henry after you?"  
Ghost Jane seemed to realize something.  
"Anna, listen to me," she said softly but firmly. "It's the 21st century. We are all safe, and you are in your bed, in our home in London."  
The slow words seemed to pierce Anna's brain fog like a ray of light. She came to realize she was on her lovely red bed, her old script was on the dresser next to her, and her ceiling fan was slowly moving around and around. Anna decided to fixate on the fan until it swirled the past away.  
"I'm sorry, Jane, it's just -"  
Jane interrupted her apology, saying,  
"Anna, you don't need to apologize. We all get like that sometimes, and there's nothing wrong with a couple tears."  
Anna realized she had been crying ever since she got to her room and hastily wiped her eyes.  
Jane said,  
"Do you want to talk about it?"  
Anna sighed. She knew she'd have to tell someone eventually.  
"I just blame myself for Kat's death. I was the wife right before her…"  
Jane finished her sentence, saying,  
"I know. I always feel as if I could've saved Anne. If I hadn't fallen into Henry's life, Anne would've had her head, and a happier life. But you and I both know that there's nothing we can do now. It's in the past, in fact, several centuries into the past, and we can wallow in it, or face the future."  
Anna smiled weakly, Jane's optimism always helped when she was feeling down. But...  
"I just feel that if I had been good enough for Henry, I could've saved her. I was just so powerless that entire time… I don't know. You're right. The past is the past."  
Jane smiled back at Anna.  
"Are you feeling better?"  
"Always, when you're around."  
Jane offered a hug, which Anna happily accepted. After a moment, Jane stood up, extending a hand to Anna.  
"If you're up to it, I know I've been wanting to try a new recipe for cookies."  
Anna took Jane's hand, saying,  
"Hopefully, this one won't catch fire."  
The queens laughed as they headed for the kitchen, ready to leave the past behind.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! maybe check me out on tumblr, @thatenglishmuff ? peace out homies


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